Caroline Finishes Captivating Run to US Open Semifinals

Caroline Finishes Captivating Run to US Open Semifinals

Caroline Finishes Captivating Run to US Open Semifinals

Caroline Finishes Captivating Run to US Open Semifinals

Published September 09, 2016

Caroline Wozniacki completed an incredible run to the semifinals of the US Open that captivated fans in New York City and around the world. While Caroline isn’t quite a hometown new York native, she has an apartment in Manhattan and a love for the tournament that makes her feel right at home.

Wozniacki, the two-time US Open finalist, took on Taylor Townsend in the first round and grinded out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win. Caroline split the first two sets with the 20-year-old American in front of a near-capacity crowd of 8,000 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Townsend took a 4-3 lead in the third, but Wozniacki won the next three games, breaking Townsend for a 5-4 lead before serving out the match.

In the second round, Caroline overcame a difficult start to beat 2004 Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova. The ninth-seeded Russian won the first four games of the match and was one point from going up 5-0 when Wozniacki ran off seven straight games en route to a 6-4, 6-4 victory .

Caroline then took on Monica Niculescu in the third round winning 6-3, 6-1 to advance to her first Grand Slam round of 16 since 2015 Wimbledon. Wozniacki played more aggressively than her normal defensive game and moved to 7-0 against the 58th-ranked Romanian.

In the fourth round, Caroline defeated American Madison Keys, the No. 8 seed, 6-3, 6-4 in an impressive display of consistency and power. Wozniacki kept Keys off balance throughout their match with the accuracy and variety of her serve. An impressive 34 percent of Wozniacki’s serves went unreturned.

Wozniacki raced through her quarterfinals match against Anastasija Sevastova 6-0, 6-2 in the fourth round. Caroline overwhelmed and outmatched the Latvia native from start. She reeled off six consecutive games to take the first set and an early lead in the second to reach her fifth U.S. Open semifinal. After dropping the opening set of her first-round match against Taylor Townsend at the U.S. Open, Wozniacki had won 10 sets in a row through the fourth round.

Caroline took on eventual US Open Champion Angelique Kerber in the semifinals falling 6-4, 6-3. While she and the tennis fans in New York were disappointed that her incredible run had come to an end, Caroline’s inspired play is sure to be launching pad for the rest of the year.

“People probably ruled me out, but it's nice to prove people wrong once again,” she said after the semifinal match.